AN: Here chapter two! So far this story has gotten a pretty good response. Thank you to everyone who's favorited and followed. And a big thanks to Nina Everblade and AngelPines for your reviews!
Adia brought her motorcycle to a stop, gravel crunching under the tires. She sighed and took off her helmet, shaking her braids free. Once she'd propped the bike up on its kick stand, she hung a bracelet around the ignition. The glass beads were covered in salt. In theory, they would ward off any thieving pixies.
Adia tucked her helmet under her arm and approached the cabin. When she got to the door, she paused. A note was taped just above the knob.
Adia,
I'm down in the lab today. Just let yourself in.
-Professor Pines
Adia took the note and opened the door. Inside, she threw the note in the trash and set her helmet on the dining room table. She took an envelope from her bag. It had the pictures from their cave exploration, freshly developed.
And after putting on her hairband and a set of safety goggles, she pushed the elevator call button.
When she reached the lab, she spotted the professor, hunched over his desk.
He glanced back at her as she approached. "Good morning, Adia."
"Morning," she said. "I've got the photos from yesterday." She handed him the envelope.
He opened it and flipped through the photos. "These came out nicely. Good work."
"Thank you." Adia looked over his shoulder. Most of the photos came out well, with only a few with distortion or blurring around the corners. The last photo, the one with the etching of a triangle within a circle had come out perfectly.
"Is this the one you mentioned?" the professor tapped the photo.
"Yeah," Adia pointed to the section with the ice bag. "That's what I think it is, right?"
The professor adjusted his glasses. "I think so. I'll take a closer look later." He grinned at her. "This is an amazing find! We'll have to find a way to date the carvings, probably with a sample of the stone. And who carved these? Dwarves?" He grimaced. "Or more likely Jeff was messing with us and some other civilization is responsible. Maybe even humans."
Adia filed the other photos in with her notes, and closed the folder as the professor finished his pondering.
"But that research will have to wait." The professor set the photo down and turned to face her. "Today I'm examining the effects of fairy mushrooms." He pulled a rack of test tubes closer and Adia leaned in to get a better look. There were ten of them, each glowing a different color.
"This is what happens when the mushrooms are exposed to water. I'm not sure what causes the glow, or the difference in color. I need some control mushrooms for further tests. Can you get them?"
Adia took out a notebook from her pocket. "Sure. What kind do you need?"
"Marasmius oreades," the professor said. He rose and crossed the room to his book shelf. "I need you to find some that are not part of a ring, and don't have an odd amount of insects near them. My theory is those ones are unaffected by fairies. And I'll need about ten, if you can find them, from different locations." She scribbled down her notes as he spoke.
He returned and handed her The Location and Identification of North American Fungi. She found the page with a picture of Marasmius oreades. It had a long pale stem and a light brown cap, with its edges slightly upturned.
She tore of her note sheet from the pad and used it as a book mark before snapping the book shut. "Do you have a sample bag ready?"
"Right here," he said, handing her a leather shoulder bag. Inside would be glass vials, gloves, forceps, a map of Gravity Falls' forests, a disposable camera, a flashlight, a compass, a flare gun with two flares, and a radio. She also had a pocket knife in her jeans pocket.
"Thank you," Adia said, swinging the bag over her shoulder.
The professor clapped her on the shoulder. "Now, even if you don't find ten, be back before dark."
Adia snorted. "Trust me, I will." She had zero interest in wandering through the forests of Gravity Falls, in the dark with who knew what else. She was sure much nastier things than mantours and pixies wandered between the trees at night.
The professor smiled. "Then good luck."
Adia waved over her shoulder as she headed for the elevator.
The earth squelched under Adia's hiking boot as she stepped through a particularly wet patch of forest. She was looking for large patches of grass and a moist environment, which meant lots of mud.
She'd had decent luck so far, having found four different mushrooms in a little over an hour. And she was pretty sure she could see another patch by the base of a tree just ahead.
She knelt by the tree, and opened her fungi book. She compared the pictures, and the details, and determined it was a match. After pulling on her gloves, she reached for the fungus. The cap squeaked, jerked a few inches to the right, and stilled.
Adia froze, blinking at the thing before slowly retracting her hand. With the same slow movement, and without looking away, she slipped her camera from her bag and snapped a picture. Then she stood, backed away, and moved on.
She wanted no part of that mess right now. For all she knew it could be some kind of lure for a bigger creature, like the light of an angler fish. Later, she'd come back with the professor and some of his inventions.
She stepped out of the grove of pines and into a clearing. The grass reached up to her knees and hissed against her jeans as she walked. When she reached the edge of the clearing, she heard the trickle of a nearby river.
It was just a little way into the trees, about ten feet wide. The water danced over smooth stones coated in moss and ferns grew around the bank. It was too deep for her to see the bottom, but there was a bridge. It was a basic wooden structure, covered in spider webs and more moss. Browned leaves lay scattered across the walkway of it.
She stopped before it, confused. She wasn't on any kind of trail, so it seemed odd for this to be here. But maybe a trail had been here once, the bridge did look old after all. She stepped forward, the sound of her boots on wood just a little too loud.
After a few seconds, she was across. She glanced back, shrugged, and moved on.
About half an hour later, she'd found her last patch of mushrooms. She was setting one into a vial, when there was a bang in her left ear. She jumped, managing to keep hold of the vial, but dropping her forceps. Spinning, she jumped to her feet.
As she rubber her ringing ear, a sound like little bells rose. A tiny figure buzzed up to her, inches from her face. The pixie gave her a sharp grin, black eyes glittering and iridescent green wings a blur.
"Damn it, Bell!" she growled, swatting at him. He dove out of her way easily, perching on a nearby branch. Rolling her eyes, she capped her vial, retrieved her forceps, and slipped everything back into her bag.
She glared at him. He showed up sometimes to annoy her, and she was pretty sure he'd been one of the pixies that stole her car. He spoke, sometimes, but had refused to tell her his name. So she'd named him after Tinkerbell.
Bell pulled something from his skirt pocket and hurled it at her. She ducked away, and it burst with a flash of light and a bang. It wasn't big enough to hurt her, but it was annoying. A fairy's version of fireworks? Maybe she could ask him for one.
She reached into her pocket and found she had some spare change. Pulling out two quarters, she held them up so he could see. "Want to trade me for one of those?"
His eyebrows rose in interest. He considered the quarters, then crossed his arms and shook his head.
"Uhh," she reached into her other pockets. No way was she giving him a lighter, or her pocket knife, but . . . "How about now?" She held up the quarters and a stick of gum. Bell grinned.
There was the chance Bell would take both and fly off, but she was hoping he'd make good on the deal knowing he could make future ones. And she was okay losing fifty cents and gum on the bet.
She held them out in the center of her palm. There was a buzz, and a blur of green and blue, and the payment vanished, replaced by a tiny red seed. It looked a bit like a pomegranate seed, with orange streaks running across it and a hard shell.
Taking out one of her vials, she packaged the seed, made a note about it in her papers, and retrieved her camera. When she took Bell's picture, he was crouched on his branch, tearing a big bite out of his new gum. It would probably take him a while to get through all of it.
Noting the length of the tree's shadows, she checked her wrist watch, and found it was five fifteen. It would take her at least an hour to get back. Which meant she should go.
"See you later, probably," Adia waved to Bell and turned back the way she came. Bell wasn't done with her though, as she could hear him buzzing along behind her. At least he wasn't throwing seeds at her.
She found the river, and followed it north to the bridge. When she turned to step onto it, she was jerked back by the hair.
Adia stopped, and half-turned to see Bell yanking on one of her braids.
"Let go!" She snapped, trying to shoo him away without really hitting him.
He glared, gave another, harder pull and pointed to the river.
The sun had moved since her last visit, and now the shadow of the bridge had shifted to and angle further downstream, instead of directly under it. She squinted at the shore line under the bridge. In the setting sun, she could see the white gleam of bone.
The skulls of deer and smaller animals grinned up from the mud alongside ribs, spines, and other bones.
She took a big step back.
"Okay. Good call, thanks." She told Bell. The Fairy let go of her hair and rolled his eyes.
She pointed to the bones. "What did that?"
Bell flew up and toward the bridge. When he was above it, he dropped one of the seeds. It fell into the space behind and below the bridge, where she couldn't see.
There was a bang, a low growl, and Bell buzzed back to her side.
A shape rose, water cascading off it until it stood as tall as the bridge. It was a hunched over thing, with two long, knobby arms and its back was covered in moss and algae. Its face was dominated by a too-large, grinning mouth, a long crooked nose, and tiny black eyes. It was about the size of the professor's truck.
"What are you doing out here?" It asked, in a voice like wind through trees.
Adia watched one of its hands rest against the bridge casually, before it started moving ever so slightly toward her. Bell hissed at it as she took several quick steps back, and the hand stopped.
"Just . . . hiking," she said, not looking away from the hand, and realizing just how long its arms were.
"Ah," the creature said. Its grin split another few inches to reveal sharp, crooked teeth. "Well, please use this bridge to ease your travels" Its eyes were fixed on her, and in the instant she'd glanced it it's face, she was sure it's hand had moved a few inches closer.
"Thank you," she said, moving further back, "but I'd rather not." She really didn't want to mention she had to cross the river to get home, but she suspected it already knew. Behind her satchel, she slid her hand into her pocket, gripped her pocket knife, and withdrew it. She flicked it open silently.
The creature's smile shrank. "Why so cautious? I will not harm you."
Adia nodded to the bones. "I can see those pretty clearly." Bell snickered somewhere behind her.
The creature's arm shot out, and Adia scrambled back. She slashed at it wildly. Its hand closed inches from her, its nails long and caked in mud, as her knife sliced across its knuckles.
She fell, and pushed herself backwards another few feet, pointing her knife, dripping green, at the monster. The hand retracted, and the creature growled, its lips pulled back into a snarl. It glared at her for a moment, before it's grin returned and it sank soundlessly back into the river. The water closed over it, and a moment later the surface was still.
She had no doubt it was still there.
Adia stood, brushing the leaves off her pants. She had to cross the river, but if she went up or down stream, that thing would follow her. She could walk further back into the woods and out of the river's view before moving, but she didn't know how good that things hearing was, or how fast it could move.
She pulled her radio from her hip and hit the call button. "Professor? Over." As she waited, watching the water, Bell returned. He gave her a smug smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, thanks for the warning," she said.
Her radio crackled. "Adia? What is it? Over."
"I'm in a situation. I'm on the east side of Eagle river, but there's a hostile . . ." she raised an eyebrow at Bell.
"Troll," he squeaked. She grimaced.
"There's a troll in the river, and I can't get passed it. Over."
When the professor replied she could hear drawers opening and supplies banging in the background. "I'm on my way. Give me a basic run of it. Over."
"I'm not sure on height, it was partially submerged, but it could be around eight feet. It's about the size of the truck and has a reach of roughly ten feet. It's carnivorous, intelligent enough to speak, fast and it can plan. I don't think it can leave the river. Over."
"Understood. I'm on my way now." She heard a car door slam. "Move away from the river and send up a flare when I tell you to. Check in every fifteen minutes or if something changes. Over."
"Got it. Over."
She moved uphill until she was a comfortable distance away, and sat down to wait. Bell alighted in a bush beside her. Adia propped her head in her hand and regarded him. "Know how to play tic tac toe?"
"That's cheating," she told Bell flatly.
He'd just enchanted the dirt to change when she wasn't looking. She was sure she'd just drawn an O in the center square, and now it was a X. Bell gave her a shrug as if to say 'prove it.' Before she could chew him out, her watch beeped, marking the next check in time.
She hit the button on the radio. "Hello professor. I'm checking in to say I'm alright. Over."
"Good," came the quick reply. "I should be close to your location now. Go ahead and send up a flare. Over."
"Understood. Over." She stood, took her flare gun and loaded it. She glanced at Bell. "You should probably cover your ears." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but complied.
Adia raised the gun over her head, pressing her arm against her ear, using her free hand to cup the other, and pulled the trigger. With a bang, the bright orange flare rocketed into the sky. It reached its maximum height and hung there, burning.
Bell clapped and pointed to the gun.
Adia shoved it into her bag. "No. You absolutely cannot have it." He blew a raspberry at her.
"I see it," the radio buzzed. "I'm not far now. I should be there in a few minutes. Over."
Adia sighed in relief. The sun had set about ten minutes ago, and she'd been doing her best to ignore the growing dark around her.
Looking back at the tic tac toe game, she found a row of three X's and a very innocent looking Bell.
"Whatever," she shrugged, "you win." She took her flashlight and flicked it on, readying herself to head back to the water. On a last instinct, she loaded the flare gun and kept in in hand.
When she saw another light moving through the forest toward her from the other side of the river, she made her way there.
They met at the bridge, each standing ten feet away from it on their respective sides.
"Hello professor," she waved.
He snorted. "Hello, Adia. Now, where is this troll?"
Adia picked up a rock off the ground and threw it into the space beneath the bridge. It hit the water with a splash, and an instant later, the water bubbled.
The troll surfaced much faster than she'd thought it could, its hand slamming across the top of the bridge.
The professor jumped. "Well, I can see the problem." He straightened, his expression turning stony as he raised a gun-like device at the monster. "Alright troll, it's time for you to leave."
The creature grinned at him. "Why would I do that?"
"Because," the professor said, "if you don't, I'll shoot you with this. A high power laser gun."
"You made a laser gun?" Adia asked.
The professor shrugged. "It's a prototype. But a good one."
The troll's dark eye flicked between Adia and the professor, before growling. It sank back into the water, and the ripples stilled.
Adia and the professor crept toward the bridge, until they both stepped onto it. The professor kept his gun up and his eyes on the water.
When they met in the center, the water exploded.
A hand appeared out of the spray, grabbing for the professor. He was ready, aiming his gun and pulling the trigger.
But instead of a laser, the gun popped, and did nothing. The professor barely had time for surprise before the hand was closing around his entire arm.
Adia whipped up her flare gun, aimed straight for the troll's eyes, and fired. A burst of fire hit the troll's face and it howled, releasing the professor to paw at its burns.
The instant he was free, they both ran, their boots pounding against the wood. They didn't stop until the river had vanished from their view and the shrieking cries had died away.
Adia stumbled to a halt, panting as the professor did the same.
When he'd caught his breath, he lightly punched her on the shoulder and grinned. "Nice shooting."
She snorted. "Thanks. Is your arm alright?"
He waved it away. "Yes. It may have some bruising, but it's fine." He pulled his laser gun from his belt and glared at it. "I just wish I knew why this didn't work. I was sure I'd had it this time . . . but I'll be back to the drawing board I suppose."
"I'm sure you'll get it," Adia said. She glanced around, but Bell had left at some point. Instead she saw the black spaces between trees, and the flicker of shadows over the ground. "Can we get back to the car? Before something else shows up."
The professor glanced around too. "Good idea." He headed west, and Adia followed behind.
"Did you find all the samples?" the professor asked over his shoulder.
"Yeah," Adia breathed a laugh, thinking of the troll, moving mushroom, and Bell, "and a few other things. I'll tell you about them when we get back."
They made their way to the car and Adia motorcycle without issue. When they regrouped at the cabin, Adia's first order of business was to get to their Gravity Falls master map. She circled the bridge's location on the map in red and wrote "Troll!" next to it.
AN: Please leave a review! I'd love to hear and predictions, or reactions you may have. Thanks for reading!